Wrench for threadless drill pipe



Nov. 25, 1941.

A. rBoYN'roN WRENCH FOR THREADLESS DRILL PIPE Filed. sept. @22, 1938 2sheets-Sheet 1 By ,6. (im

A rroRA/Eys Nov. 25, 1941. A. BoYNToN 2,263,564

wRENcH FOR THBEADLEss DRILL PIPE 'l Filed sept. 22, 193s 2 heats-sheet'2 Flg: 6.' LEXA/van? sommi/v v of? TTOR/VEYS.

Patented Nov. `25, 1941 UNITED STATE S PAT EN T 'OF F I C E WRENCH `FORTHREADLESS DRILL PIPE Alexander Boynton, San Antonio, Tex. ApplicationSeptember 22, 1938, Serial No. 231,212

6 Claims.

`on handles in orderlto develop the `necessary S Kforce required .tomake up or break out pipe connections, (3) a wrench whichmay be quicklyapplied without having to yengage completely around the pipe, (4) a`wrench which may -be employed in connection with the invention in mysaid co-pending application in a manner that will not mash, score, orotherwise damage the pipe, (5) a wrench that acts to hold itself inoperating position `without the employment of reciprocating means, and,(6) a wrench that is always l tree to be .released `and which neversticks or freezes to the pipe.

A U-,shaped portion, with keys or projections adapted to engage thedrivenmember, is engageable over .the pipe Vby lateral movement and hasattached Ato it another element, also adapted to be engaged upon .thepipe by lateral movement, and further adapted to become secured about'the coupling 'by aslight longitudinal movement,

Ywhich movement and slight rrotation engages to- 3 gether the drivingand driven members and, at the Lsame time, secures the wrench inoperating position.

I attain vthe foregoing objects by mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in 'which- Fig. '1 is a top viewvof -the assemblyshown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is an isometric View of the wrench em.-

ibodying this invention.

Fig. 3 is an outside view of one form of my threadless drill stemconnection for which this wrench is adapted.

Fig. 4 isa longitudinal section on Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of the key 3 in Figs. 2, 4, and 6.

Fig. 6 is a bottom View of assembly shown in Fig. 2.

the line 4 4,

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

The upper shell member l may be threadedly connected to lowershell'member2, the upper `end of which locks against the flange Ic, asappears in Figs. 2 and 4. The 'uppermember I has a U- shaped upper endId with llateral opening lf wide enough to receive the drill pipe 6,Fig. 3, ywith slight clearance. The lower member 2 also has a lateralopening 2a, likewise wide enough to receive the drill pipe with slightclearance, the openings or distances lf and A2li being equal, but thelower member in its circumference describes somewhat more than -asemi-circle, `and has an inside diameter slightly-greater than theoutside diameter of the coupling 1, Fig. 3, in order to provide that themember 2 will have a free slidable t over the coupling.

The member l, Figs. 2 and `4, has dovetailed openings in its lower end,adapted to closely receive the lkeys 3, having lower extensions 3a,adapted .to be-engagedwithin the slots 8b of the head `3a of spiral keymember 8, the inner slope of the extensions 3a being at the same Vangleas the slots 8b and the upper end of head 8a. The dovetailed upperlportion of the keys 3 taper inwardly so that the keys may be lplacedfrom the outside into lconforming slots in the lower end ,of member I,where these `keys will be secured by and within the threaded upper endof mem.- ber 2, as clearlyappears in Fig. 4, also appearing in Figs. 1and 6.

The handles 5 are connectedby a semi-circular band 5a, having an openingkwithin its inner side to slidably receive the dovetailed `rib la, whichrib is integral with the member After the semi-circular band 5a has beenengaged over `the semi-circular rib la, as in Fig. 2, the bumpers 4 areslidably engaged over each end cf the rib la and secured there by welds4a, Figs. 2 and 6.

Toplace the wrench in operating position upon .the drill pipeconnection, such as illustrated in Fig. 3, the assembly, as shown inFig. 2, is placed relative to Fig. 3 in the position occupied by thesection in Fig. 4, i. e., the assembly is moved laterally over the drillpipe '6, which is admitted through the side openings lf and 2a, thelower end member 2, having its bottom end internally `beveled at 2b tofacilitate engaging over the coupling, being then somewhat above thecoupling 'l and the head 8a. The assembly is then moved downward, thelower shell member engaging over the coupling 'l until the internallybeveled lower end I g of the upper shell member 55 rests upon thesimilarly beveled upper end of head 8a. If, in this movement, the lowerend 3a of the keys should engage the head 8a between the slots 8b,slight rotation of the wrench assembly, of course, will cause the keyextensions 3a to find and engage within the slots 8b in which the keylower extensions are adapted to engage, the lower beveled surface of thekey extensions being at the same angle as the inclined slots Bb.

The wrench assembly being engaged over the drill pipe 6 and coupling 1,as described in the preceding paragraph, the spiral key member 8, havingits spirals engaging between the spiral lands 6a of the drill pipe andopposite lands in the coupling, may be rotated in one direction toremove it or in the opposite direction to replace it.

'I'he play between the handles 5 and bumpers 4 enables the connection tobe made up tightly, or easily broken out, by a quick rotary jar in onedirection or the other, as may be required; In breaking out ordinaryrotary drill pipe, itis frequently necessary to hammer the couplings ortool joints and, in making up the joints, it is common practice to screwthe threads together as tightly as possible with a wrench, and then tostrike the wrench handle several times with a sledge hammer to make surethe joints are tight enough. It is then frequently necessary to strikethe wrench handle on the opposite side to get the wrench loose. Muchtime is thereby Wasted and accidents frequently happen. The

built-in jarring or shocking means of the wrench herein disclosed isbelieved to save much time, promote safety, and increase eiciency, ascompared to the now employed means for making and breaking drill pipeconnections. The openings 5b are to receive a cable for the purpose ofsuspending the wrench balanced against a weight in order that the wrenchmay be quickly and easily applied for the purpose of making up orbreaking out the drill stem, such balancing.

means being generally employed on drilling rigs for wrenches too heavyfor convenient manual handling. The openings 5c are for attaching a ropeor cable if more than manual force, in some cases, should be required.

Great speed is desired in making and breaking all drill pipe connectionsand to enable such speed to be attained the U-shaped upper end Idbetween the flange Ib and connection band 5a is provided for a cat lineto be wrapped around. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 6 the outermost position ofthe drill pipe is indicated by the line le. It will be observed that thecat line, in being wrapped about the U-shaped upper end, will clear thedrill pipe for the obvious purpose of avoiding unnecessary frictionbetween the rope and drill pipe.

It is obvious that mechanical changes may be made in the structure, andthat equivalents may be substituted for the parts shown; and I reservethe right to make such mechanical changes, substitutions, and adaptionswithin the scope of the invention, as comprehended by the stated objectsand appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wrench for connecting and disconnecting vdrillpipe sections whichare coupled together with a locking bushing comprising a body, an openside therein to t said body laterally about the pipe, a seat in saidbody to rest on said bushing, keys projecting from said seat to bereceived by said bushing when said body is moved along the pipe againstsaid bushing, and handles on said body to rotate the wrench and bush- 2.A wrench for connecting and disconnecting drill pipe sections which arecoupled together with a locking bushing comprising a. body, an open sidetherein to t said body laterally about the pipe, a seat in said body torest on said bushing, keys projecting from said seat to be received bysaid bushing when said body is moved along the pipe against saidbushing, handles on said body to rotate the wrench and bushing, andmeans loosely mounting said handles on said body so that a jar may beimparted to the body to start or complete the turning of the bushing.

3. A wrench of the character described including upper and lower bodyportions, keyways in the base of the upper portion, keys in said ways,threaded areas on said portions to lock said keys in said ways whenthreaded together, a handle on said wrench, and a jar connection forsaid handle including a dove tail guide ring on which the handle isslidable about said body.

4. A wrench of the character described including upper and lower bodyportions, keyways in the base of the upper portion, keys in said ways,threaded areas on said portions to lock said keys in said ways whenthreaded together, a handle on said wrench, and a seat on said wrench toreceive a cat line to spin the wrench.

5. In a wrench of the character described to t a pipe coupling havingslots therein, an upper shell having a lateral longitudinal opening toadmit a pipe, a lower shell threadedly connected therewith and having alateral longitudinal opening adapted to register with said firstopening, said second shell being adapted to fit axially over the pipecoupling, keys dovetailed into said upper shell and extending therebelowto engage the slots in the coupling, said keys being bevelled so as tobe removably secured by said lower shell, a circular bevelled rib aboutthe eX- terior of said upper shell, a handle member dovetailed with andslidable upon said rib, bumpers at either end of said rib to limit themovements of said handle member and to transmit the shock thereof tosaid keys and coupling, means to connect a cable for suspending saidwrench in operative position, means for connecting a cat line to saidhandles, and means upon said rupper shell to receive and support a catline.

6. In a wrench of the character described to fit a pipe coupling havingvertical slots therein, an upper shell having a lateral longitudinalopening to admit a pipe, a lower shell connected therewith and having alateral longitudinal opening adapted to register with said rst opening,said second shell being adapted to fit axially over the pipe coupling,keys in said upper shell and extending therebelow to engage the slots ofthe coupling, a ribbed exterior on said upper shell, a handle memberslidable upon said rib, bumpers at either end of said rib to limit themovements of said handle member and to transmit the shock thereof tosaid keys and thence to the coupling, and means upon said upper shell toreceive and support a cat line.

ALEXANDER BOYNTON.

